Clothes hanger



J. F. BARNES CLOTHES HANGER May 6, 1952 Filed June 50, 1949 Patented May 6, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOTHES HANGER James F. Barnes, Chicago, 111.

Application June 30, 1949, Serial No. 102,391 Claims. (01. 22s-ss) This invention relates to a clothes hanger. The invention is particularly useful in the form of a preformed flat strip of metal foldable readily into the triangular shape of a coat hanger.

Coat hangers, as now manufactured, are usually of circular wire construction and are formed into the triangular shape in which clothes hangers are usually designed. Such structure is bulky and difficult to ship. Further, the wire tends to bend easily and becomes deformed after slight use. While specially shaped clothes hangers are produced from plastic and other materials, such hangers are expensive and are not competitive with the simple wire hanger.

An object of the present invention is to provide a hanger which is competitive with the usual round wire hanger, being formed of substantially the same amount of material, while at the same time providing a sturdier structure than one that is not readily deformed. Yet another object is to provide such a structure which may be shipped in fiat condition and then folded accurately by reason of spaced flexing hinge portions into the desired shape of a hanger, interlocking means being provided for securing the free end of the hanger body to the body. Another object is to provide a flat hanger which is reinforced to render the same rigid, while at the same time providing space for advertising material, etc. A still further object is to provide a flat hanger body equipped with a hook and provided with flexible or hinge portions between rigid portions, whereby the structure may be shipped in fiat condition, and then upon being bent for forming the hanger, will accurately be turned into the desired shape. Yet another object is to provide a flat hanger of the type shown equipped with slots and holes for facilitating the hanging of garments thereon, while at the same time providing arelatively broad surface for supporting the hangers, metal being employed for the forming of a hanger and in a quantity not substantially exceeding that heretofore required for the simple wire hanger of circular cross section. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred form, by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a hanger embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a front view in elevation; Fig. 3, a plan view of the hanger strip prior to bending the same into hanger shape; Fig. 4, an edge view of the structure shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5, an enlarged detail sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 55 of 2 Fig. 2; and Fig. 6, a broken perspective view of the free end portion of the hanger strip and showing the interlocked connection between it and the flat body of the hanger.

In the practice of my invention, I prefer to form a fiat metal strip in the shape best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4-. The hook portion III is preferably embossed to form a longitudinal rib II for rendering it rigid. Spaced from the hook rib H is a second rib l2 and between ribs II and I2 is an unribbed strip l3 squipped with a longitudinally-extending slot l4. Spaced inwardly from the rib I2 is a long longitudinal rib l5, and spaced outwardly from rib I5 and toward the free end of the strip is a rib I6 substantially the same in length as the shorter rib I2. The ribs, as already stated, may be formed by pressing the metal in the central portion of the flat strip outwardly, as shown more clearly in Figs. 2, 4 and 5. On each side of the longitudinallyextending rib is a fiat edge portion H, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5. It will be understood that the rib may be formed by pressing the metal in the opposite direction if desired. The outer free end of the hanger body is provided with a tongue I8 and head l9, as shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 6. By twisting the free end portion of the hangar and inserting the head I!) through the elongated slot M, a connection between the end and the hanger body can be effected, as shown more clearly in Fig. 6.

The hook portion In of the hanger may be formed in any desired manner as, for example, even from round wire, but I prefer that the remaining portion of the hangar be formed of flat material and, preferably, of metal for the purposes which will be set out. As already described, the flat metal body extending inwardly from the hook portion I0 is provided with a central elongated rib l5 and two relatively short ribs i2 and i6 on either side thereof. Between the ribs |2 and I5 is an unribbed or fieX- ing hinge portion 20, and between the rib I5 and the outer rib I6 is an unribbed or flexing hinge portion 2|. The portions 20 and 2| are important in that they require the bending of the flat body strip at these selected points in the later assembly of the hangar, thus giving an accurately proportioned hanger. Further, the stress at the unribbed portions 20 and 2| is least, and the ribs l2, l5 and I6 cooperate with the strips 20 and 2| in providing rigid shoulders 22 and a rigid cross bar 23. The strip portions 29 and 2| serve as suspension means for the flat or rigid cross bar 23, while the shoulder ribs |2 and I6 serve to maintain a rigid structure for the suspension of garments thereon.

Operation In the operation of the structure, I prefer to ship the hangers in the flat condition hown in Figs 3 and 4 since they occupy very little space with this arrangement. When the structure is to .be assembled, the operator merely folds the hanger as though he were shaping it generally in a loop shape. The unbending ribs l2 and I5 and I6 cooperate with the flexing hinge portions 20 and 2| in automatically shaping the looped body into the triangular shape indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The operator twists the outer free end of the flat body to bring the head l9 through the slot I4, as illustrated in Fig. 6, and then releases the end. The head thus securely locks the free end portion of the strip to the portion of the body just below hook Ill, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The structure may then be used as a clothes hanger.

The flat shape of the shoulder portions 22 enables me to provide notches 24 therein, as shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 3, and such notches are efiective in retaining shoulder straps and the like when garments equipped with shoulder straps are suspended upon the hanger. Also the flat structure of the cross bar 23 provides a means for pin openings 25, as shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 5, and such openings enable skirts and other garments to be pinned upon the cross bar. The broad surfaces provided by the shoulders 22 and cross bar 23 also enable advertising matter or other descriptive material to be impressed or formed on such surfaces. The hanger described above is competitive with the ordinary round wire hanger, in that it may be formed from substantially the same amount of metal, while at the same time the hanger possesses much greater rigidity by reason of the longitudinal ribs therein and may be shipped in large quantities while occupying very little space. At the same time, upon assembly, the spaced hinge or flexing areas require the automatic forming of the hanger in the desired triangular shape.

While, in the foregoing specification, I have set forth a structure in great detail for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that such details may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A hanger comprising a flat metal body having one end thereof shaped in the form of a hook and being provided with ribs extending longitudinally thereof, said ribs being interrupted to form a pair of relatively short shoulder ribs and a relatively long cross bar rib, said cross bar rib being spaced from said shoulder ribs by arcuate portions, and a head integrally connected to one end of said flat body engaging a slot in said flat body adjacent the hook, said headbeing disengageable from said slot upon untwisting the adjacent integral end of said flat body about a generally longitudinal axis thereof.

2. A hanger comprising a flat body having one end thereof shaped in the form of a hook and being provided with ribs extending longitudinally thereof, said ribs being interrupted to form a pair of relatively short shoulder ribs and a relatively long cross bar rib, said cross .bar rib being spaced from said shoulder ribs by arcuate portions, and a head carried by one end of said flat body releasably engaging a slot in said flat body adjacent the hook, said cross bar portions adjacent the ends of said cross bar rib being provided with pin openings.

3. A pre-formed flat strip of metal foldable readily into the triangular shape of a coat hanger, comprising a fiat body portion having a central cross bar rib and shoulder ribs flanking said cross bar rib, a hook portion rib, all of the said ribs being spaced apart to provide flexing hinge portions therebetween, the spaced-apart area between the said hook rib portion and the adjacent rib being provided with an elongated slot, the end of said strip opposite said hook portion being equipped with a head extendable through said slot for locking said end thereto in the folding of said strip to form said hanger.

4. A flat hanger body adapted to be bent and assembled into a clothes hanger, comprising a flat metal body having a hook at one end, a hook rib, a central cross bar rib and shoulder ribs flanking said cross bar rib, said hook rib being spaced apart from the adjacent rib and said ribs being spaced apart from .each other by short flexing areas, the area between said hook rib and adjacent rib being provided with an elongated slot, and the end of said strip opposite said hook being equipped with a head extendable through said slot for locking said end to said flexing area upon twisting said strip opposite said hook about a generally longitudinal axis thereof.

5. A hanger, comprising a flat metal body having one end thereof shaped in the form of a hook and being provided with ribs extending longitudinally thereof, said ribs being interrupted to form a pair of relatively short shoulder ribs and a relatively long cross bar rib, said cross bar rib being spaced from said shoulder ribs by arcuate portions, and a head carried by one end of said fiat body opposite the end shaped in the form of a hook, said head engaging a slot in said flat body in the lower side of said hook.

JAMES F. BARNES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 611,669 Wigtil Oct. 4, 1898 1,251,948 Wordingham Jan. 1, 1918 1,600,949 Priest Sept. 21, 1926 2,164,208 Guyer June 27, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 358,057 Germany Sept. 4, 1922 

